The Branch Church

The gospels are full of some powerful before/after stories... And in every one of those before/after’s Jesus is the difference.

When you read the rest of the New Testament, one of the most common phrases the writers use to talk about the life of a Christian is the phrase “you’ve been raised with Christ.”

Raised from what?

The after-life isn’t just about heaven.
It’s about the resurrected life HERE and NOW on earth. When Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, is on the scene in someone’s life – get ready for different.

It’s one thing to be spiritually lost or “off-course.” It’s another to realize it. One of the first steps to us being “found” is when we become aware that we are off-course and ask for help. The Spirit of God is often involved in bringing about this awareness. John 15:26-16:11

This weekend we're exploring what Jesus has to say about the “help” that the Spirit of God brings into our lives. John 14:15-27

In week three of “Until Then” we’ll be in John 14:15-31.

In week two of “Until Then,” we’ll be in four verses that are “ants in the pants” of my faith. They can be uncomfortable and challenging, yet they keep it moving. Our journey continues through Jesus’ parting words to His disciples in John 14-16.

A new series begins this weekend at The Branch!

If you had a few days left to live would you want to know? Suppose you weren’t given the choice as to whether or not you would know it. You just knew it. How would you spend those few days? What would you want to say to those you were closest to?

This weekend we kick off a new series that will take us all the way up to Easter. We’ll be spending some time in the last extended conversation Jesus has with His disciples before His arrest, trial, and crucifixion. You could consider this conversation His “parting words.” This is the stuff He wants His disciples, including us, to know and to live out until He returns. We’ll be walking through passages from John 14-16 over the next five weekends.

The final message in a series that has become an increasingly appropriate series with every week that rolls by in 2021. This week has been a terribly difficult week for so very many, all over the state and in the communities where we live.

In the midst of it all, we’ve heard story after story of many who’ve been able to open up their homes and share their resources with strangers and neighborhood acquaintances.

This message shines a light on how there are always opportunities for the love of Christ to be shown.

This weekend we’ll explore the one question that’s not always at the top of our minds when faced with a decision. It’s a question that represents counsel that Scripture gives us repeatedly from the Old Testament through the New Testament.

Decision-making isn’t simply about determining whether something is right or wrong. Nor is it about having enough information. And no, the question isn’t “What will glorify God?” (Good guess, though!) Asking this question will, though, often bear fruit that will give you an opportunity to point to God, no doubt!

So what’s the question?

Think of your conscience as like an organ in your body that has a sense of right and wrong... like a red flag that waves back and forth telling us we’ve done something wrong, or are about to do something wrong, or that something is wrong in the situation we’re in.

It’s a reflection of us being made in the image of a holy and just God.